JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After struggling for much of the month of January, Carson-Newman (11-8, 5-4 South Atlantic Conference) will try to close out the month with a winning streak.
The Eagles will challenge The University of Virginia's College at Wise Highland Cavaliers (11-7, 4-5 SAC) looking for back-to-back wins after five straight losses to start the month Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. from the Prior Convocation Center.
UVA Wise has won back-to-back league games against Limestone and Emory & Henry by at least 23 points.
"Man, they are playing confidently right now," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We have to make possessions difficult for them. We have to be aware of Bradley Dean, Luke Lawson and company. They are capable, confident and dangerous. We'll have our hands full, no question."
In an instant classic in Holt Fieldhouse on Dec. 10, Carson-Newman and UVA Wise swapped leads 26 times before the Eagles pulled out an 81-77 win.
While C-N won its 17th straight over UVA Wise, the Cavaliers snapped a streak of four straight double-digit wins by the Eagles. Carson-Newman has won all four games played in the Prior Convocation Center by double-digits and an average 20.5 points per game.
UVA Wise guard Bradley Dean leads the SAC in scoring with 19.7 points per game. Dean has been on a tear of late with 20-point efforts in four of the Cav's last five games. He has nine such games this season. After a stretch where he went 5-for-22 from deep over five games, Dean stroked all three, threes he took in a 92-63 win at Limestone.
He has topped 25 points five times this season and scored in single digits twice (seven points in losses to Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial). Dean had 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting when Carson-Newman and UVA Wise met in Holt Fieldhouse.
Dean and UNC Asheville transfer Luke Lawson have been averaging 26 points on 58.06 percent shooting and 23.5 points on 68 percent shooting. The duo has combined to hit 13-of-16 triples over the last two contests.
UVA-Wise head coach Blake Mellinger should ring a bell to CarsonNewman fans. Mellinger is no stranger to teaching the game of basketball as his father and grandfather were both coaches, making him a third generation coach in the Mellinger family. Blake's grandfather, Arnold, is the only men's basketball player to have his jersey retired at C-N. The elder Mellinger competed for the Eagles from 1954-57 and scored 1,826 career points, ranking seventh all-time in Carson-Newman history
Bryant Thomas is the ultimate shot-stopper. Carson-Newman's single-game, single-season and career record-holder for blocks now sits on 170. He has the fourth most blocked shots among active players in NCAA Division II. Thomas leads the league this season with 2.1 rejections per game and is top 15 in the country in blocks per game in that regard.
Thomas can start moving up the SAC record book for rejections. Seven rejections will move him into the top-10 all-time in SAC history with Chris Wooddridge (Catawba
